Device on machines for filling collapsible tubes



J. G. NILSSON April 3, 1962 DEVICE ON MACHINES FOR FILLING COLLAPSIBLETUBES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 21, 1960 J. G. NILSSON April 3, 1962DEVICE ON MACHINES FOR FILLING COLLAPSIBLE TUBES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJuly 21, 1960 J. G. NILSSON April 3, 1962 DEVICE ON MACHINES FOR FILLINGCOLLAPSIBLE TUBES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 21, 1960 3,028,028 IDEVICE N MACHINES FOR FILLING COLLAPSIBLE TUBES John G. Nilsson, Alvik,Bromma, Sweden, assig nor to Arenco Aktiebolag, Stockholm, Sweden, aSwedish joint-stock company Filed July 21, 1960, Ser. No. 44,358 Claimspriority, application Sweden Aug."21,- 19'59 6 Claims. (Cl.'214'-307)This invention relates to tube filling machinesand more particularly toa device for facilitating the feeding of empty tubes to the tube holders'on the tube conveyor-s of the machines.

Collapsible tubes to be filled are usually delivered in cartons havingupwardly open cells which are each dimensioned to receive acollapsible'tube and'arrauged such that the tubes will be positioned inrows and columns. Collapsible tubes to be manually fed to the tubeholders on the conveyor of the machine and filled -Withmaterial from itsbottomend are'delivered'with their open bottom ends directed upwardly inthe carton and usually the tubes are inserted in the holders on theconveyor of the machine by the person operating the machine who sticks afinger into, for example, each of four tubes 'andthen removes the tubesfrom the carton. Said four tubes could not,'however, be directlytransferred to the tube holders because the distance between adjacentholders is considerably .greater than the distance between thetubes'stuck onthe fingers even if the operator separates his fingers asmuch as possible. It is, thus, necessary to insert the tubes one afteranother in the holders which means'a loss of'time that may cause emptyholders to reach 'the filling station or stations of the machine.

An object of the present invention is to-overcome said disadvantage. Theinvention enables transport ofthe tubes from the carton to the tubeholders on the conveyor'without manual operations such that the capacityof the machine can be increased and that each of the tube holders alwayswill carry a collapsible tube.

The invention comprises a device for'feeding collapsible tubes fromcartons divided into rows and columns by upwardly open cells, whichcells each contain an empty collapsible tubewith anopen, downwardlydirected fillin'g endyto' a tube'filling machine of the type havingaconveyorwhich is driven step by step, carries a plurality of equallyspaced tube holders and 'feeds tubes inserted in'said holders to one ormore tube filling stations. This device includes a carton carryingsurface for carrying a filled carton, positioned with the openings'ofthe cells directed towards said "surface, a driving 'm'eans'ar-rangedto feed a carton 'on the carrying surface step by step towards and pastone or more openings in the surface or, an edge of'the surface, anadjustable tube guiding mechani'sm provided below and parallel with saidopenings or edge and carrying tube guides, the number ofwhichis at leastas great as'the number of'cells in a row'of'the carton and'whi'ch tubeguides in the adjusted'tube'receiv- 'in'g position of the tube guidingmechanism are each spective tube holderon the conveyor, and releasemeans for releasing-said retaining means inpredeterminedipositions ofthe conveyor so that tubes, received by the -tube tube holders on theconveyor.

.guides and retained therein will fall down into underlying 3,028,028Patented Apr. 3, 1962 FIGURES Zan'd 3,feeds twt'ytubes at atimerfrom theleftto'thei-ight towards filling stations (not shown). The main shaft 3of the tube filling'machine'carries :ach'ain wheel "4 which; via a chain5, drives a chainwheel'6="secured to a shaft 7 Which'is 'journaled atfiand 9 in the machine frame. Secured'to thesh'aft 7 is a radial cam disc10and'an axial'cam disc 11. The barn disc-10ccoperat'eswith'a 'roller'lzwhich is *rdt-aau mounted on the one end of -alever -'1-3 whi'ch onitsother erid carries a tuberetaining plate 14 forming the tube 'retainingmeans already mentioned. The'lever -13'is' pivoted-tomfixed stub" shaft-15 'on 'the'machine frame. Roller 12 'is"he'ld-'in engagemen-t with thecam disc 10 by a tens'iou'spring 16 provided between the machine 'frameand the lever 13. A roller 17 cooperates with cam disc '11 andis'rotatably mounted on'the one end of a lever 18 the other end of whichis pivoted'to the one end of a link "19. Thelever 18 is'pivoted to abracket 20 secured to'the'machine frame and ishel'd with its followerroller "17 in engagement with cam disc'll'by a tensionsprin'g 21arranged between the machine frame and'the'lever 18. The link 19 isconne'ctedto a lazy tongs link systempgenerally denoted' 22, having itscrossing links pivoted on pins in "known manner. Tube guides 24, 25,2 6and 27 each consisting of a tubular member with an innerdi'ameterfall'owin g a collapsible 'tu'be'to'pas sthrough are secured toindividual guide' members'SS "all of which except one of theotxt'ermost(the left hand member in 'FIG. '2), are ari'an'ged tO Each-guide member53 is secured to'on'e of'the pivot pins 23- of the link system 22 so'thatthetube' guidesM to "27 will be-uniformly moved with respect to oneanother by provided above the 'tub'e retaining plate 14 -so "that tubes28 inserted in the tube guides'rest withtheir-"lowerends against theplate 14 when the'plate14 is in the position shown in the figures.

The shatt'7 also carriesan eccentric 55 having a stub axle "29 radiallydisplaced from the axis of shaft 7. A link 30 is pivoted to the axle 29.The free' end of "the "link 30 is pivoted to an arm "31 which in turn-ispivoted to' a shaft 33 journaled in'abearing'32i A ratchet wheelwhich'is pivoted to the'free end of the -30. The shaft 33 also carries achain wh'eel '36 coniieeted-'to a cl'iain wheel 38'via a cha-i-n'37.The'chain'wlieel "38 is ec'urd to a shaft 39"which-i's rotatably mountedin two bearings '40, '41 in'the ma'chine frame; A drive roller"43ismeunted-onthe' shaft '39 and a drive r'olle'r "44 is "mount'eanother shaft -42-;parallel with 'sha'fti'39. Shafts 39 a d42 aremounted 'in-the machine "franief 'R'o'll'ers 43, are

in driving cdnnctionwith a conveyor-belt dSiprovide'cl with outwa'rdlyprojecting carton carriers 46: 'Below the conveyor belt 45 -and =at;a.distancefrom same, correspending to the heightof; acarton 47isfprovided a carton supporting table 48. The table 48 is provided withtwo parallel guide rails 49 and 50 between which cartons are fed by thecarrier-s 46 from the left to the right in FIG- URE l. The table 48 isfurther provided with an opening 51 between the rails 49, 50 having anedge 52 perpendicular to the rails. The opening 5 1 has a width which isat least equal to the diameter of the tubes used and its left hand edge52 in FIGURE 1 runs parallel with the tube guides 24 to 27 and to theleft of a vertical plane "through the central axis of said holders toensure that tubes falling down from the edge 52 will be received by thetube guides. The table 48 could alternatively terminate at the edge 52,in which case emptied cartons can be transported from the table by aconveyor belt or the like.

The machine operates as follows.

As shown in FIGURE 2 each carton row is assumed to comprise four cellswith tubes to be filled. As shown in FIGURE 1 the carton 47 on the table48 has been fed a distance corresponding to two cell rows. Whenpositioning the carton 47 on the table 48 the opening of the carton and,thus, the openings of the cells are preferably covered with a separatesheet or a platen, which may be connected to the table 48 to prevent thetubes from falling out of the carton. The sheet or platen is thenremoved when the carton is in proper position. In the operativecondition of the machine, shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 and corresponding todegrees in the operating cycle illustrated in FIGURE 4 the last fourtube holders 2 below the tube guiding mechanism have just received theirtubes and the conveyor 1 is prepared to feed two tubes towards fillingstations, not shown. In the embodiment shown this feeding operationtakes place during the movement of the main shaft 3 through 125 degrees,illustrated by line I in FIGURE 4. During the remaining portion of theoperation cycle, that is between 125 and 360 degrees, the conveyor 1 isat rest to allow the two tubes fed to be filled. During the rotation ofthe main shaft 3 through 360 degrees, chain wheel 6 is rotated through180 degrees by chain so that the lever 30 and its cooperating members 31and 35 will be positioned as indicated in dash and dot lines in FIGURE 1which means that the ratchet wheel 34 will be rotated one pitch. Thismovement is illustrated by the curve II in FIGURE 4. When rotating theratchet wheel through the first pitch the carrier 46, resting againstthe rear upper edge of the carton, will be fed a distance correspondingto the width of a cell row so that four tubes will fall from the tableedge 52 into the underlying tube guides 24 to 27. During the nextrevolution of the main shaft 3 arm 30 will be retracted to the positionshown in full lines in FIGURE 1 and the carton will not be fed forward.The return movement of the arm 30 is illustrated by the falling portionof the curve I'I. During this revolution, that is the cycle between 360and 720 degrees in FIGURE 4 the conveyor will be fed through two steps,as during the first revolution, and simultaneously roller 17 is urgedoutwardly by the cam surface 11' of the axial cam disc 11 so that lever18 will be swung clockwise in FIGURE 2 and cause the link system to bepositioned as shown in FIGURE 3 by the link 19. The roller 17 is now inthe outermost position on the cam disc '11, that is, on the surface 11".The clockwise movement of the lever 18 is illustrated by the risingportion of the curve III. The tube guiding mechanism remains operated inthe adjusted position for the time the roller 17 contacts surface 11" asillustrated by the horizontal portion of curve III in FIG- URE 4. Aftertermination of the movement of the conveyor 1 (the rising portion ofcurve I) roller 12 reaches the rising portion on the cam disc 10 wherebythe arm 13(FIGURE 1) will begin to swing counterclockwise so that thetube retaining plate 14 will swing out from the tube guides 24 to 27and, thus, tubes held by said guides will fall down into the four emptytube holders 2 which have been transported into proper position by theconveyor 1. The movement of the arm 13 is illustrated by curve IV inFIGURE 4. The rising portion of this curve IV, illustrating theretraction of the tube retaining plate 14, terminates as shown about 20degrees before the return movement of the tube guiding mechanism,illustrated by the falling portion of the curve III, is initiated. Whenthe return movement of the arm 13, illustrated by the falling portion ofcurve IV, is completed the different parts of the machine are in thepositions shown in FIG- URES l and 2 and the next operation cycle cantake place. p

In the embodiment shown each carton contains five cell rows and theratchet wheel has five teeth. When the first row in a new carton is tobe fed past the edge 52 the foremost edge of the carton rests against acarrier 46 and consequently the thickness of said carrier must be takeninto account. Every sixth feeding stroke is, therefore, increased by thethickness of the carrier 46 and accordingly the tooth distance 34'(FIGURE 1) is greater than the other tooth distances of the ratchetwheel 34.

The device can be modified in various ways Within the scope ofinvention. It is, for example, possible to replace the table 48 and thecarton feeding device with an endless belt terminated at 52 and arrangedto advance cartons step by step as described. Opening 51 may be replacedby a number of openings corresponding to the cells in a row anddimensioned such that a tube can freely pass through each opening intothe respective underlying tube guides.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus for feeding collapsible tubes from cartons, divided upinto upwardly open cells which are arranged in rows and columns andwhich each contain an empty collapsible tube with an open, downwardlydirected filling end, to a conveyor carrying a plurality of equallyspaced tube holders, which conveyor is driven step by step to advancetubes inserted in said holders to one or more tube filling stations, incombination a carton supporting surface for carrying a filled cartonpositioned with the openings of the cells directed towards saidsupporting surface, a driving means arranged to feed said carton on thesupporting surface step by step towards and past at least one opening inthe supporting surface positioned so as to uncover said cell openingswhen aligned therewith, an adjustable tube guide mechanism located belowsaid surface and comprising a row of tube guides, the number of which isat least as great as the number of cells in a row of the carton, andretaining means supporting tubes in said guides; a control means foradjusting said tube guide mechanism into a first position in which eachof said tube guides is coaxial with a corresponding cell in an uncoveredcarton row each to receive a tube from one of said cells, and into asecond position in which said guides are each coaxial with acorresponding tube holder on the conveyor, and release means forreleasing said supporting means of said tube guide mechanism to allowthe tubes to fall down into underlying tube holders on the conveyor.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and in which said tube guidemechanism comprises a guide rail on which all of the guides but one ofthe outermost are slidably arranged, and in that said guides are eachsecured to a pivot shaft of a lazy tongs link mechanism.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and in which said supporting meansincludes a plate extending below said guides, a swingable lever to whichsaid plate is secured and which lever is arranged to be swung from saidguides in dependence on the position of the conveyor to allowcollapsible tubes resting on said plate to fall down into underlyingtube holders on the conveyor.

4. In apparatus for feeding collapsible tubes from cartons, divided upinto upwardly open cells which are arranged in rows and columns andwhich each contain an empty collapsible tube with an open, downwardlydirected filling end, to a conveyor carrying a plurality of equallyspaced tube holders, which conveyor is driven step by step to advancetubes inserted in said holders to one or more tube filling stations, incombination a carton supporting surface for carrying a filled cartonpositioned with the openings of the cells directed towards saidsupporting surface, a driving means arranged to feed said carton on thesupporting surface step by step towards and past an edge of thesupporting surface, an adjustable tube guide mechanism located belowsaid surface and comprising a row of tube guides, the number of which isat least as great as the number of cells in a row of the carton, andretaining means supporting tubes in said guides; a control means foradjusting said tube guide mechanism into a first position in which eachof said tube guides is coaxial with a corresponding cell in an uncoveredcarton row each to receive a tube from one of said cells, and into asecond position in which said guides are each coaxial with acorresponding tube holder on the conveyor, and release means forreleasing said supporting means of said tube guide mechanism to allowthe tubes to fall down into underlying tube holders on the conveyor.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, and in which said tube guidemechanism comprises a guide rail on which all of the guides but one ofthe outermost are slidably arranged and in that said guides are eachsecured to a pivot shaft of a lazy tongs link mechanism.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, and in which said supporting meansincludes a plate extending below said guides, a swingable lever to whichsaid plate is secured and which lever is arranged to be swung from saidguides in dependence on the position of the conveyor to allowcollapsible tubes resting on said plate to fall down into underlyingtube holders on the conveyor.

Littwin et al Dec. 2, 1958 Craig Sept. 6, 1960

